In order to develop an educated population, all states in the U.S. have compulsory school attendance laws. These laws vary from one state to another, but they generally require school attendance from age six to sixteen. Most children in America start school at age five, by attending kindergarten, or even at age three or four by attending pre-school programs. Kindergarten teachers have taken on the job of introducing some academics, for example teaching letters, numbers, colors and shapes. Still, there’s a lot of time for play and fun. Then there are six years of elementary school and usually two years of middle school, and four years of high school. In elementary schools, courses for children include reading, writing, and there are also social courses, science, art and music. They can also learn cooking and manual skills. The academic year lasts nine months, from September to June, with winter and spring vacations. In high school, a student will study English literature and composition, social science, mathematics, laboratory experiments and foreign languages, as well as art, music and physical education. In most high schools, apart from general education, there’s also vocational training for specific occupations.